Haunted
by IronHeartWriter
Summary: Tony Stark paid the ultimate price in his last battle and lost someone who was very close to him. Once she returns and their lives are thrown into chaos, how will these two remain together? Sequel to 'Rivals'
1. Confrontation

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize, but my OC's are MINE

**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize, but my OC's are MINE!**

**AN: Welcome to the sequel to 'Rivals!' I would suggest you read that first if you haven't already, otherwise you're going to be VERY lost. (I know I said I was going to post it this weekend, but I couldn't help myself…Tee-hee!) Our Story begins two months after the end of 'Rivals…'**

Chapter 1

Tony Stark had been drunk. He had been so drunk, that he was unsure how he managed to get the blonde bimbo home in the first place. Getting drunk had been a regular think in Tony's life at one point, and then he had stopped slightly when he'd first become Iron Man. He'd stopped almost entirely when he'd met Nicole Lion. But after Nicole died….

_Stop it,_ Tony's inner voice yelled at him. _You are not thinking about that now!_

It was early; only around 5 AM. Tony had awoken from his adventures with the slutty blonde he'd dragged home to find himself, as usual, not hung over. Somehow, no matter how much liquor he drank, he never found himself hung over the next morning. But that was not really a comforting thought, because that only meant one thing. The voice was going to kick him in the balls for what he did.

Tony missed Nicole like crazy, but there was one thing that bothered him ever since she had died two months earlier; she did. Tony couldn't tell anyone without a risk of him getting shipped off to a mental institution, but _at least_ three times a day, Nicole's spirit called out to him. Usually it was to make him feel worse than he already did about anything that was going on. But he was certain it wasn't his imagination as each time he could also _feel_ her presence.

'_You go from sleeping with me to sleeping with piles of trash again?'_

Yep, there it was; the familiar chill and Nicole's sarcastic voice calling out to him. Tony sighed as he trotted down the stairs to the living room.

"Goddamn, Nicole," Tony grumbled as he sat down on the couch. "Don't you have anything better to do than make me feel miserable?"

The chill that came over him whenever Nicole spoke to him turned into a full gust of wind.

"Actually, no, I don't."

Tony's hair stood on end. That had sounded a lot more like an actual statement than the usual whisper on the wind. He slowly looked around and nearly passed out. Nicole was floating a few feet behind him.

"What the hell?!"

"You can see me?" Nicole floated back a few feet.

Tony nodded, not believing what he was seeing. Nicole looked just as she did before she died; her hair long and brunette, cascaded down her shoulders, her blue eyes were as bright as ever….The only true difference was that she was glowing and he could see right through her.

"How can you see me?" Nicole asked. "You've never been able to see me before!"

"You tell me!" Tony said. "You're the spirit."

"Don't remind me," Nicole growled.

Tony examined her again before standing up and walking in front of her, "How are you?"

"How am I?" Nicole repeated. "How do you think I am? I'm dead, I'm _stuck_ on earth, _and_ I have to watch you drag home sluts every night! Oh, yeah, I'm _fine_, Tony."

Tony bit back the urge to laugh, "Can I ask you something?"

"You might as well," Nicole shrugged.

"Why haven't you moved on?" Tony asked.

"You think I don't want to?" Nicole inquired. "I've been trying for two months to move on! I just can't! My spirit can't." Her face fell and she turned her back on Tony. "It's not like you really care, anyway."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You went back to the way you were when you first put my reactor in, Tony," Nicole said. "It's like that time we were together meant _nothing_ to you. You're back to bringing home sluts every night and getting so drunk that you can't remember even getting up the morning before! I may be dead, but I'm still worried about you."

"How would you like me to be, Nicole?" Tony asked. "I lost you during a fucking battle. You could have been alive now if I hadn't been so angry."

"You don't know that," Nicole said. "Stane would have still tried to use that rocket on one of us. But there is something you need to know."

"What?" Tony asked.

"Do you know where my body is?" Nicole asked.

"Nick Fury took it," Tony said. "He sent out a cover story that you went AWOL when you were on a vacation."

"That's not my point," Nicole said. "My body was never buried."

"_What?!_" Tony's anger flared up. "Where is it?"

"In a crypt underneath the SHEILD building," Nicole said. "That _may_ be one of the reasons I can't move on."

"I'll talk to him," Tony said.

Nicole nodded, "I miss being able to feel your touch, Tony."

Tony's face saddened, "I miss you more than you know, Nikki."

"Please, don't ever forget me."

Tony laughed, "You really think I could if I tried?"

"And _please,_ for my sake, watch who you sleep with…"

Tony rolled his eyes, "Even as a spirit you're insane, Nicole."

Nicole smiled and vanished.

'_Don't forget to get out before SHE wakes up.'_

Tony shook his head as he heard the whisper on the wind. He had bigger things to worry about than a bimbo who was fast asleep in his bed.

TBC!

**AN: Ah, The first chapter! Always interesting…. I hope it was to everyone's liking, and don't forget to leave me comments, I ALWAYS love them!**


	2. Ghost Life

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Nicole was _miserable._ She hated being a spirit and being stuck on earth. Since she had died…Well, things had been _weird_. She remembered the battle easily. And then, all she could remember was a bright white light and then she woke up in Tony's house as a spirit. Why she had woken up in Tony's house of all places, she didn't know, but it definitely sucked. Part of her 'luck' was that she was condemned to either staying in Tony's house or following him. She couldn't leave his house if he didn't. It actually got pretty boring after awhile, and it also got rather sickening, especially when Tony decided to bring a girl home…

_Okay, more nausea_, Nicole thought as she watched Tony get ready to leave and her eyes fell on the slumbering blonde bimbo in his bed. She knew Tony was getting ready to go to SHIELD, and she had no desire to follow him, so she was going to stay in the house. She loathed all those sluts Tony had dragged home over the last few weeks. Each time he touched them or visa versa, her stomach clenched angrily, hell, Tony had been _her_ property. It was pure torture being stuck where she was and not being able to touch Tony or feel him touch her.

Nicole sighed and floated through two floors to Tony's workshop. She liked to spend time in there. It was actually the only place in the house she ever had any peace. Being a spirit had given Nicole new _abilities_. She could hear what people were thinking, and she could also move things with the flick of her hand. She didn't mind the telekinesis so much, but the mind reading she _loathed._ She absolutely could _not_ control it. It was disturbing to her every single time Tony brought someone home…

_Ugh, okay, do NOT think about that…._

Instead, Nicole floated over to one of the places in the room that gave her the biggest sense of pride. After their last battle together, Tony had restored her armor and hung it on iron scaffolding right beside the Iron Man Mark II armor. She wished she cold feel the armor on her skin again, but like everything else she tried to touch, she just floated right through it.

She exhaled deeply and floated to the couch. She hovered above it as she looked around the basement workshop. There were certain things she specifically avoided thinking about, like the table where she and Tony had first fooled around and Jarvis had interrupted them, and the chair that now had two restraints attached to it from when she had gotten revenge on Tony for screwing around with her in her club. Thinking of those two things just annoyed Nicole even more because it reminded her of Tony's touch. The last thing she wanted to think about was his touch, especially since she couldn't _feel_ his touch even if she tried.

_It sucks being a spirit stuck on earth_, Nicole thought with a groan.

"I sure hope that's you groaning down here, Nicole," Tony said as he appeared at the bottom of the staircase. Nicole smiled mischievously as she saw him. She loved the way he dressed when he was either going to work or going to SHIELD. He wore a crisp suit along with his finest dress shirt and a tie. Nicole longed to just grab Tony by his tie and have him take her right then and there, but of course, then there was the problem, _she was dead!_

'_Hopefully Fury will be able to give me some answers as to why Nicole's actually haunting me,'_ Nicole heard Tony thinking. _'Then we can both rest in peace….'_

Nicole sighed, knowing that Tony couldn't hear her, "I love you, Tony."

Less than an hour later, Tony pulled his Audi R8 up to the SHIELD headquarters building. He was going to stir up some hell if Fury didn't have any answers for him. Tony stormed straight into Nick Fury's office, completely disregarding Fury's aged secretary.

"Where's Nicole's body?" Tony demanded.

Fury gave him an amused look, "What do you mean, Stark?"

"Nicole's spirit has been fucking haunting me for the last two months," Tony snarled. "She can't move on and it's hurting her spirit."

"Her spirit needs to stay earthbound," Fury said, turning away from Tony.

"Why?" Tony asked.

"If it doesn't then we can't revive her."

Tony's expression changed to one of confusion, "Excuse me?"

"We're reviving her, Stark," Fury repeated.

"Were you planning to inform me?" Tony inquired, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Not until we were ready to do it."

"And you're waiting for….?"

"Tell me, Stark," Fury changed the subject. "Have you heard of Elektra?"

"The assassin or Carmen?"

"The assassin," Fury nodded.

"What about her?" Tony asked, his patience a little short.

"She was also killed once," Fury said. "But she was later revived by the great Sensei Stick. He is the one that we're calling upon to revive Nicole. But it has been a little challenging to locate him as of now."

"So, in other words, Nicole has to suffer until you and your gang of feds can actually locate Stick."

"Only if you want to have any chance of her being revived," Fury said reasonably.

Tony shook his head, "This _isn't_ right, Fury."

"It's our _only_ option, Stark. We need to revive her for the sake of helping you."

TBC!

**AN: So, I got a little of the Elektra movie hinted in there. I never saw all of it, but that's why there's Wikipedia! Have an Amazing weekend!**


	3. Smarter

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Tony left Fury's office a few minutes later, but no sooner than he started the engine of his R8 did his blackberry ring.

"Yeah?" Tony grunted.

"We need you," Fury said.

Ten minutes later, Tony was walking down a long flight of stairs with Nick Fury and Sensei Stick, who had mysteriously turned up right after Tony had left. The long staircase led to a dank and musty old basement that Tony wouldn't have expected to be under the SHIELD building. Lying in the middle of a table was Nicole's body. Tony felt chills shoot through his body as he looked at the body. She looked as if she was sleeping, which confused Tony slightly.

"She died two months ago," Tony said. "How—?"

"Magic," Fury said simply. "You've got a lot to learn still, Stark."

Sensei Stick began chanting in a foreign language, and Nicole's body began glowing. Tony waited with baited breath, hoping that it would work.

Back in Tony's mansion, Nicole was crying. Her spirit was in a _lot_ of pain, and she didn't know why. She felt like she was being stabbed over and over again. She was praying for it all to end, when she felt herself be pulled suddenly. She was pulled out of Tony's mansion and down along the Pacific Coast Highway, all the way from Malibu to LA. She recognized the SHIELD building as she was pulled into it and then her vision went black.

Tony watched as Nicole's reactor lit up and she began breathing. Her back arched and she cried out in pain. Tony was sure the shrapnel had just been pulled from her heart and her heart had been repaired. As her eyes fluttered open, tears streaked down her face. She sat up and looked around. She was alive.

Before saying or doing anything else, Nicole was taken to shower and change her clothes. Once she was done, she found her way back to Fury's office where Tony was waiting along with Nick Fury himself. Her ears were ringing with voices and they were actually starting to give her a migraine….

"How are you feeling, Nicole?" Fury inquired as she sat down.

"Weird," Nicole admitted. "Why am I able to hear people's thoughts still?"

"It must be a side-effect," Fury said.

"I don't want to be able to hear people's thoughts!" Nicole cried. "Can't you take it away from me?"

"_That_ is not in my ability to do, Nicole," Fury responded.

"Wait, you can hear thoughts?" Tony inquired.

"I _could_ when I was a ghost," Nicole said. "Fury, I _can't_ control it! I never could!"

"Perfect time to learn."

Nicole glared daggers at the elder man, "Then can I go now? I have a fucking migraine now…."

Fury nodded and both Tony and Nicole got up. Nicole shook slightly as she walked, so Tony wrapped his arm around her waist to steady her. Once out of the building, all the voices in Nicole's head vanished. She exhaled deeply as she leaned against the hood of Tony's R8. Her eyes squeezed shut, and her nails dug into her palms.

"Hey," Tony said, grasping her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know," Nicole responded. "I feel weird. Goddamn, you know _ninety_ percent of those women we passed inside were mentally hitting on you?"

Tony grinned as his cheeks flushed slightly, "Too bad I only have eyes for you."

Nicole beamed as she slid into the passenger side of Tony's R8, "I can _feel_ again…."

She leaned over as Tony slid into the driver's seat and kissed him on the lips. Tony moaned into the kiss and allowed it to deepen. _The smell of him, his touches… Are enough to drive ANY woman crazy_...

Nicole was in _heaven_. Between Tony's kisses, his scent, and his touch, she felt like she actually managed to move on. But thankfully, this time, it was _all_ reality. In an attempt to deepen the kiss further, Nicole shifted slightly and lost her balance a drop. Her hand slammed on the steering wheel and accidentally sounded the horn.

"Nicole…." Tony laughed, shaking his head when Nicole looked around like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Sorry," Nicole grinned guiltily.

"Only you…."

Tony drove them back to his mansion. Nicole was happy to be able to actually have to open the door instead of gliding through it.

"Jarvis," Tony said once the door closed behind them. "Please change the sheets on my bed so Nicole can get some sleep."

"Oh," Nicole said. "You don't have to do that for me. "There's somewhere else I want to rest."

Tony gave her a look of confusion as she took him by the hand and led him through the back door. She took him to a hammock that was suspended in the middle of the backyard and laid down on it with him. Once they were both settled, Nicole promptly put her head down near his reactor and sighed. _Now_ she was really in heaven. She felt Tony's arm slide up under her shirt and along her ribcage. The roughness of his skin against her soft skin felt….

"Amazing," Nicole sighed.

"Hm?"

"I missed _all_ of this so much," Nicole said as the sounds of the waves nearby reached her ears.

"Well, I missed you," Tony said, kissing the top of her head.

"Yeah, you _and_ all the blondes you slept with in the last eight weeks," Nicole smirked. "Can I just tell you how _nasty_ those girls were in their thoughts while in bed with you?"

"Do I even want to know?"

"I don't think you do," Nicole said.

'_I'm actually a little concerned of what she might've heard…'_

"Tony," Nicole said flatly. "I can _hear_ you. I'll admit, I heard some _disgusting_ thoughts that probably would have made me vomit if I would have been alive. _But_, you were screwing these women for God's sake; do you really think anything different passes through my own mind?"

"I would hope so considering you're more intelligent than these women by like 200," Tony grinned.

"That doesn't mean I'm _any_ different than another woman when it comes to getting laid," Nicole reasoned with a smirk of her own. "That just means I think the same things as these women, but in a smarter way."

TBC!

**AN: Hey guys! I just wanted to inform everyone that updates may be coming a little slower from now on. I got a bad report card last semester and I'm on **_**thin**_** ice with my parents, trying to prove that I can do well in my college summer classes. But updates will be coming, don't worry! I wouldn't leave you guys without giving you some Tony/Nicole action! I love you guys, and thanks so much for all the reviews thus far!**


	4. Loving or Lusting?

Chapter 4

**AN: Warning! Some lovemaking ahead! Read at your OWN risk!**

Chapter 4

Nicole sighed as she took Tony's free hand in both of hers' and began to massage it gently.

'_Oh, yeah, Nicole was ALWAYS amazing with her hands….'_

Nicole giggled as she kissed his palm, "Amazing with my hands am I?" In one movement she straddled his lower abdomen and grinned down at him. "I seem to remember _you_ as the one who is _amazing_ with his hands."

"The fact that you can read minds is either the biggest curse, or the biggest blessing," Tony mused.

"Really, it's a curse," Nicole assured him.

'_We'll see about that_,_'_ Tony smirked as Nicole heard his thoughts. She kissed him passionately, tasting him truly for the first time since she'd been revived.

'_Coffee, Colgate toothpaste, and whiskey,'_ Nicole found herself analyzing as she felt Tony's nails on her back. _'Only Tony…'_

She felt the old fire heating up again in between their bodies, and she felt his hardness behind her. She knew then that it wasn't just going to end with this kiss….

From his lips, Nicole then latched on to Tony's pulse point, biting at it gently with her teeth. She felt a shiver pass through Tony's body and grinned to herself. She loved causing those reactions in Tony. From his pulse point, she began to undo his tie and his shirt desperately desiring more skin contact. At long last his shirt was off and his reactor glowed directly in her eyes.

"Tony…."

Her voice was full of desire and want. Tony smirked, knowing if he delayed her, she'd want to kill him.

"Are you sure you can handle me on your first day?"

Nicole wasn't in the mood for that bullshit. She was on a mission and Lord Help her if Tony was going to stop her. She arched one eyebrow while her fingers began trailing up and down Tony's arms, "Do you _really_ want to mess with me right now?"

"Yes," Tony responded simply, his manhood twitching slightly behind her. "But probably not in the way that you're thinking. Tony turned to his side and the hammock swung as Nicole hit it. Nicole should have known better to think Tony would've actually let her remain in control for too long….

Tony found Nicole's pulse point before she could object to anything. The low sigh that escaped her lips two seconds later told Tony that he was safe, for now.

'_Now, on to business.'_

Nicole giggled as she heard the stray thought. _Ah, just let him be in control,_ Nicole's own restless mind told her. _Better for you anyways…._

Nicole's back arched slightly as Tony began kissing a trail down the line of her V-neck tank top. About three seconds later, the top was off, without Nicole being sure how it happened, but she didn't care. _Skin!_ Now she was pretty much sure she'd gone to heaven.

"Tell me," Tony said, his thumb going back and forth idly over her black bra. "How do you want it?"

"I don't really give a shit as long as I _do_ get it right now," Nicole responded, her head absolutely hazy as hell.

"Simple enough," Tony smirked as he snapped her bra off. With the bra gone, Nicole was now entirely bare before Tony from the waist up. He was eyeing her slightly hungrily as he took her lips with his once more. He tasted her as he kissed her and his own mind went slightly hazy. But once he felt the soft skin of her breasts, he was instantly refocused. Her breasts became instantly hard at his touch, a sign that she'd been desiring him greatly.

One of his hands left her breasts and began to slowly trail down her body. He opened her jeans with ease and found her center, already wet with the same desire. Tony both heard and felt Nicole moan into their kiss as he slid one rough finger into her. Her nails dug into his shoulders slightly, but he ignored it, knowing that within a few minutes, Nicole was going to be screaming his name. He slid another finger into her, and his thumb found her clit. Nicole broke away at last from their kiss and buried her face in Tony's neck.

"Tony…." Her voice was a pleading squeak.

"It's okay," Tony breathed against her. He continued to thrust his fingers in and out of her and continued circling her clit with varied pressure. "Come for me, Nikki."

Nicole whimpered something that Tony couldn't quite understand. He felt her nails dig deeper into his skin and he felt her inside clench around his fingers. With a cry of pleasure, she came for him.

Tony grinned, '_That's one.'_

Nicole smirked, "If _only_ you could read my own mind, Tony." Fast as lightning, she undid his belt and lowered his pants. She took hold of his manhood with a smirk of her own. "Now it's my turn."

Tony's breath caught in his chest and his back couldn't help but arch as Nicole began to work his manhood with her soft hands. He nearly lost it when he felt her tongue glide across the tip.

'_Jesus Christ!'_

"It's okay," Nicole's voice was taunting as the tip of her tongue circled the tip of his manhood. "Come for _me,_ Tony…."

_Only_ with Nicole's hands did he ever come to such a glorious and quick end. He hated going fast, but Nicole _never_ gave him another option.

"You," Tony said; his breathing erratic. "Are evil."

Nicole shrugged as she kissed him, "I learn from the best."

"Oh, you want evil now?" Tony inquired. "_I'll_ show you just how evil I can be."

Tony got rid of Nicole's jeans just as easily as she had disposed of his own pants. With a final kiss, he moved down her body. He inhaled the seductive scent of her entrance and flicked his tongue along it. Nicole's back arched perfectly and he heard her nails scratching against the surface of the hammock.

"Oh, God…"

"Even God can't save you now, Nikki."

Tony thrust his tongue into her as Nicole let out a moan. He tasted her last orgasm inside of her. As good as it tasted to him, Tony kept his mind straight. He ran his tongue against her clit and her cry of pleasure rang in his ears. He knew Nicole like the back of his hand. He was going to make her come again whether or not she wanted to. He took her clit into his mouth and sucked hard at it.

"Tony," Nicole's voice was higher than he'd ever heard it. "Please, I want to feel you in me. I want us to…" Now she was having trouble forming sentences… "Together."

Tony nodded. With a final flick of his tongue against her clit, he sat up slightly and thrust into her. He moved back along her body so he could kiss her lips. When he felt her nails absolutely slicing into his shoulders, he knew her end was close. When her inner walls clenched around him as her orgasm hit, his own end was triggered.

"Oh, my God," Nicole breathed against his shoulder. "That was…."

"Amazing," Tony said, kissing her forehead as he slid out of her. Unfortunately, the hammock seemed to have had enough of Tony and Nicole's lovemaking on its surface, and as Tony slid out of Nicole, the hammock tipped slightly and both of them wound up naked on the grass. Nicole couldn't help but laugh.

"I think your hammock has an attitude problem," She said as she found her position again with her head on Tony's chest. The grass felt cool against her burning skin.

Tony shrugged as he kissed her forehead again, "Nicole, I _think_ you made my shoulders _bleed_."

Nicole rose one eyebrow as she touched the back of Tony's shoulder. When she pulled her hand away, it was indeed covered in blood.

"Ah, shit," Nicole sighed. "I'm so sorry."

"It was worth it," Tony assured her. "C'mon, let's go get cleaned up."

"Okay," Nicole said. "I have something to tell you after…."

TBC!

**AN: Okay, that wasn't too bad, I don't think. It was a long time coming anyway lol. Thanks for all the reviews thus far, and I'm actually really happy to see that y'all are happy that Nicole's back! Bye for now!**


	5. Hatred

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Nicole trotted into Tony's bathroom after her shower to find him bare-chested in front of a set of mirrors. He was examining his shoulders where ten semi-circular marks were now visible; looking like they'd only just stopped bleeding.

"Ouch," Nicole hissed as she walked over to him. "I'm sorry."

"It was worth it," Tony repeated his earlier statement.

"At least I'm not the only one with marks now," Nicole sighed, indicating a small mark on her right cheekbone. "From when my father hit me," She explained when Tony gave her a look of confusion.

"Why do you still have it?" Tony inquired. "I thought Sensei Stick healed you."

"Some wounds never heal," Nicole responded. "God help me if I ever have to go through getting the shrapnel torn out of my heart again."

"That hurt?"

Nicole gave him an 'are you kidding me?' look, "Speaking of that topic, I need to talk to you about something."

"What's up?" Tony inquired, walking out of the bathroom and into his closet.

"You know how my mind was basically going crazy because I was hearing so many thoughts at once in Nick Fury's office?"

"Yeah," Tony responded as he pulled a t-shirt over his head.

"I could hear thoughts from all the people on our floor, the floor above, and the floor below," Nicole continued. "_But_ I _couldn't_ hear Nick Fury's."

Tony gave her a confused look.

"Don't you dare say it," Nicole snarled.

"Say what?"

"What you just thought."

"What, that I think you're reading too much into it?"

"Exactly," Nicole hissed. "I _am_ not reading too much into it. I just think it was _very_ strange that I could hear everyone around me, but I couldn't hear the thoughts of someone sitting two feet away from me. Beside the fact that Fury was so dismissive when I told him I didn't want to keep the power."

"Nicole, what you just said _entirely_ contradicts itself," Tony said. "If Fury was trying to hide something from you, don't you think he would have had Stick take the power _away_ from you, not let you keep it?"

"You're fucking me, right?" Nicole's eyebrows arched. "Tony, _he's_ hiding something from me specifically. Something's up and I _don't_ like it!"

"You want to know what I think?"

"Not particularly," Nicole responded. "Considering I already heard it."

Nicole's face fell as she walked out of Tony's room and began walking down the stairs.

"Nicole!" Tony called after her as he too went down the stairs.

"What?" Nicole snapped. "What the fuck now?" She groaned as she sat on the arm of one of the leather couches, "Goddamn it, Tony! Why is it _always_ like this between us?"

"Why is it always like what?"

"Why does it _always_ seem to get bad between us after we have sex?"

"Even I can't answer that," Tony admitted with a slight shrug. "But where are you going?"

"I'm going home, I'm going to get my car, I'm going to confront Nick Fury, and then I'm going to go shopping, is that okay with you?" Nicole crossed her arms, "And before you even _say_ it, I don't give a fuck whether or not you support me going to Nick Fury. You should know by now that my hunches are usually _always_ right."

Tony sighed, "Can you just ignore that damn mind radar of yours for two and a half seconds?"

"If I knew how to control it, I would," Nicole snapped. "_Another_ thing I need to talk to Nick Fury about."

Tony knew in both his mind and heart he wasn't about to win this argument, "_Fine_, go to Fury. But don't be surprised if he brushes you off."

Nicole got to her house with the help of Tony's chauffeur, Happy Hogan. Nicole's AI house unit, Sophie, was ecstatic to see Nicole home again.

"It's wonderful to have you back home at last, Nicole," Sophie said as Nicole walked into her garage. "I missed you!"

"Missed you too, Sophie," Nicole responded. Her eyes glittered as she examined her navy Audi R8. She couldn't wait to drive it again…. But to do that, she needed keys. She began searching the house for them, unable to remember where they were.

"Sophie," Nicole said as she walked into her living room, "where are my—" Nicole's throat seemed to close up on her as she saw the figure sitting on her couch. Her father was sitting there, his legs crossed, just staring directly at her. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Looking for the ungrateful woman they say is my daughter," Ben Lion snarled. "So, the word on the underground was true. You're sneaking around with Tony Stark."

"What the fuck does that have to do with _you_?" Nicole crossed her arms directly below her revealed reactor. "And I'm _not_ sneaking around. His reactor saved my _life_."

"Tony Stark _mysteriously_ took over Lion Labs around the time that they say you went 'missing.' _You_ sold him the company."

"Hey, money's all the same to me," Nicole shrugged, her manner unusually nonchalant. "I have better things to be doing than spending all day in labs anyways."

"Oh?" Her father challenged her.

"My club," Nicole smirked, knowing how much she was pissing her father off. "Now, how did you get into my house?"

"Disabled your AI for a few moments," Ben Lion smirked himself. "If you sold Lion Labs, you can get it back, just as easily."

"I _can_," Nicole agreed. "But then that'd give you just _too_ much control in my life. Sorry, _Dad,_ but that ain't happening while I'm alive."

"I'll bring down Stark's reputation."

"Tony's a _hell_ of a lot stronger than you think he is," Nicole said. "I'd like to see you try it."

Ben moved directly in front of her, "You little bitch…. I should have given the company to the highest bidder when I had the chance."

His eyes gave her a once over and landed on her collarbone, "What the fuck…?"

Before Nicole could stop him, Ben's hand was around her throat. He yanked her towards him, his eyes bulging slightly.

"A _hickey?_" Her father questioned, his voice on a high octave. "You're doing more with Tony Stark than I thought."

Nicole's instincts roared in her head and she kicked her father away from her, breaking his grip on her throat.

"I _am not_ 16 anymore!" Nicole roared. "It's none of your goddamn business what the fuck me and Tony Stark do together!"

Nicole's hand felt her throat, she was sure she was going to be getting a bruise there later. Goddamn, it wasn't bad enough that it was her first day back on her feet, but she had to deal with her father too? She glared at the man she'd kicked away from her. He'd fallen over and was slowly getting to his feet. Nicole clenched her jaw and stood her ground.

"_Get out,_" Nicole snarled. "And this time, stay the fuck out of my life."

'_You're going to regret it…'_

Her father left without another word. Nicole collapsed against her couch, her hand once again by her neck.

'_Forget it! I'm so not dealing with Nick Goddamn Fury today.'_

"Sophie," Nicole finally voiced about five minutes later. "Where are my keys?"

Nicole was able to locate her keys two minutes later with the AI's help and went to the closest grocery store merely to buy bread, cereal, eggs, peanut butter, and Pepsi. That was all she needed to get through the next few days. She could already tell they were going to be long ones.

The familiar ringing of her blackberry reached her ears as she was piling the shopping bags into the small trunk of her R8. She looked at the screen and smiled. It was Lala, her best friend.

"Hey," Nicole said with as much energy as she could.

"Oh. My. Gosh. You're back!"

Nicole smiled, wishing that her best friend was in front of her, "Yeah, I am."

"Can _you_ at least give me a straight answer as to what the hell has gone on the last two months?" Lala asked.

Nicole sighed, chewing on her bottom lip, "I'll tell you what. Come sleep by my house tonight. We'll have a girl's night in; order some pizza, move through those _horrible_ chick flicks that I have in my movie collection, and talk."

"Sounds good to me," Lala laughed. "What time should I come?"

"Did I _ever_, in the ten thousand years that I've known you, given you a time that you _need_ to come over?"

"I'll see you in a bit then."

Nicole smiled as she hung up her phone.

'_Screw Tony for now,'_ Nicole thought with a sigh. _'All I need right now is my best friend_._'_

TBC!

**AN: Okay, wow, I KEPT forgetting to tell you guys something that I should have said WAY back in the beginning of Rivals. In the novelization (and I think the movie as well,) Tony was born in 1973, which would make him 35 in 2008, BUT in my AU, I made him and Nicole both born in 1983, which would make them both 25. I did that merely to make it seem more real to me, and hopefully a little more real to everyone else. ALSO, just another random note; I'm taking Sociology 21 in college. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's Human Sexuality. Random as hell course, but very good to keep me on track with my love scenes lol, so hopefully those will get better too in time! Well, that's it for my rambling!**


	6. Alone

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Nicole didn't sleep at all that night. She stayed up till the wee hours of the morning talking to Lala, explaining what had _really_ happened to her, and the events of the entire day. Annoyingly enough, she also shared Tony's belief that she was reading too much into the situation with Nick Fury.

'_When the world gives you lemons….'_

Nicole sighed as she sat out on the balcony, waiting for the sun to rise. There was a cool breeze blowing in from the Pacific Ocean that seemed to caress her skin in an almost calming manner. She could already tell it was going to be a _hot_ June day, and she wasn't looking forward to that any more than she was looking forward to going down to SHIELD. She decided to grab her black macbook and see how her company was actually doing. As the computer started up, it signed her on to AIM instantly. She ignored the instant messenger and logged herself onto the Lion Laboratories' server.

**Stark4**: What are you doing up so early?

Nicole blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected _anyone_ to be on AIM at that time of day, especially Tony….

**NLion**: Making sure you haven't run my company into the ground.

Nicole smirked to herself as she pressed enter to send the message. She could almost see Tony laughing in her mind's eye.

**Stark4**: Glad to see you trust me so much. Why didn't you call me last night?

Nicole cocked her head to the side; _You didn't call me either…_ She ignored that stray thought as she typed back a response.

**NLion**: I got caught up with some shit. Lala spent the night, my dad came over, I went shopping…

**Stark4**: _Your father came over?_ Are you okay?

**NLion**: Oh, yeah. I'm _great._ Forget the fact that my dad now knows that I'm sleeping around with you. He _only_ tried to choke me.

Nicole would have loved to be in Tony's presence as he received that message.

'_5…4…3…2…1…'_

Right on cue, Nicole's blackberry rang. She didn't have to look at the screen to know who was calling. Before she could even breathe a hello, Tony was already on the rampage.

"Your father did _what_ to you?!"

"_Tony,_" Nicole started, knowing she had to head him off before his train started rolling. "Really, I'm fine."

But once Tony was pissed, there was no stopping him, "Tell me what happened."

Nicole inhaled deeply, "I came home, I didn't see him. I went looking for my car keys and find him sitting on the couch. He sees my reactor, he flips, he sees that goddamn hickey you just _had_ to leave behind and tries to kill me."

Tony was silent on the other end of the line, never a good sign….

"Tony?"

"Goddamn…."

"What?"

"You've been in this business long enough," Tony said. "Do you remember Justin Hammer?"

"Justin Hammer?" Nicole repeated. "Sounds familiar….Hammer…._Hammer…._ _Justin Hammer…._Of course, of Hammer Enterprises!"

"Mm-hm," Tony hummed in response. "He's one of my biggest competitors."

"And?" Nicole's eyebrows arched, at least she wasn't the only thing that was giving Tony things to be angry about.

"He's trying to undercut my deal with the Air Force," Tony sighed.

"Like Rhodey would ever let that happen."

"Whatever," Nicole could tell Tony had just rolled his eyes. "You're okay though?"

"Never better," Nicole said, massaging her aching neck with one hand.

"So, why _are_ you up so early?"

"Because nobody cares about me."

"Okay," Tony laughed. "Why the hell do you say that?"

"Because it's true," Nicole responded. "You don't trust in me enough to follow this damned feeling of mine about Nick Fury. Lala agrees with _you_, strangely enough, so I'm stuck out on my own. Tony, didn't _you_ once tell me that you became Iron Man because you felt in your heart that it was right? Well, I feel in my heart that Fury's hiding something from me!"

"Listen," Tony said at last. "I did say that at one point, and it still _is_ the reason I became Iron Man and continue to do what I do. _If_ this feeling is truly as strong as you say it is, then I'll come down to SHIELD headquarters with you."

"Really?"

"Really," Tony responded. "Come by the Lion Labs building at like five this afternoon and I'll go with you."

Nicole grinned, "Thank you so much, Tony."

She felt like a weight had been raised off of her shoulders as she hung up with Tony. Already the day was looking a lot brighter. It seemed nothing was going to keep her down for long. She hoped.

At four thirty that afternoon, Nicole left her house. She was cruising along the familiar Pacific Coast Highway headed towards the building that had belonged to her family for so long. It felt weird to be heading towards it again. Her blackberry chimed as she sped down it, her speed-demon tendencies still in full effect. Her eyes darted to the chiming phone to read a one word text message:

**Regret**

Nicole never even felt it as a Ford F-350 slammed into her Audi R8, sending the R8 flying through the air. The Audi rolled over several times as it finally hit the ground, but by that time, Nicole was already unconscious. One word slipped out of her mouth as everything around her turned to darkness, _Tony_.

Tony was waiting. Nicole was usually the one that was on time, while he was almost always running late. He was pacing the lobby of Lion Labs when his blackberry began ringing. Rhodey's name and picture flashed across the screen.

"Yeah?" Tony barked as he pressed the answer key.

"Tony, I need to talk to you."

Half an hour later, Tony maneuvered his silver R8 along the police lines, his car having been cleared by Rhodey to pass along the now shut down Pacific Coast Highway. When finally he spotted Rhodey, he got out of his car. His eyes found the wreckage that was Nicole's navy R8. It looked like a crushed tin can.

"Where is she?" Was the first thing to come out of Tony's mouth.

"Nobody's seen her," Rhodey said. "Her car door had been torn off by the time the paramedics got here, but no witnesses saw anyone take her anywhere."

"Where's the asshole that slammed into her?"

"Dead."

Tony cursed as he turned away from Rhodey. He knew deep in his heart that Nicole was alive, and that the crash hadn't killed her, but with the other driver dead, they weren't going to be able to find Nicole easily.

'_It'll take a lot more than a crash to kill Nicole_,_'_ Tony's mind told him. _'But what else can she withstand?'_

Nicole was in _pain_. She tried to move, but both her arms and legs were tied down. Her head was throbbing painfully, and her body felt like it had shattered entirely.

'_No,'_ Nicole's mind protested. _'If your whole body had shattered, you wouldn't be around to think about it right now.'_

Nicole forced her eyes open just in time to feel something be injected into her upper arm. She hissed as she waited for her vision to clear, which it did moments later. Somebody stepped back from her, now aware she was awake. It was a man. He somehow looked familiar to Nicole

"What did you just inject into me?" Nicole demanded. She realized that she was chained up against a wall by her wrists and ankles.

"Flunitrazepam," The male responded with a smirk. "Flunitrazepam with a shot of tequila."

Nicole's mind worked like a machine to pair the name of the drug with it's affects, "Flunitrazepam…Holy shit! That's…."

"The date-rape drug," The man nodded, confirming what Nicole had been attempting to say.

"Mixing it with alcohol…." Nicole was mentally kicking herself. Her mind just did _not_ want to do the calculations that she was telling it to.

"Increases its effects," The male voiced her thoughts for her with ease.

"Who are you?" Nicole snarled.

"We've met," The man said. "Justin Hammer."

Nicole's pupils dialated greatly, "What the fuck do you want from me? I _don't _own Lion Labs anymore."

Justin smirked, "Oh, my purposes are _beyond_ Lion Laboratories now."

Nicole heard a faint cough from somewhere close by. Her eyes snapped up and found the piercing blue eyes of her father.

"_You!_" Nicole snarled. Her snarl turned into a cough as her head began feeling hazy.

"Me," Her father responded with a smirk of his own. He walked over to Nicole and swept a stray hair out of her face. "You ungrateful little witch."

"Thanks, Dad," Nicole groaned. "But you know I prefer being called a bitch."

Nicole gasped in pain as her father slapped her across her face, "You're not in a position to be a wise-ass, Nicole."

"Never stopped you," Nicole couldn't stop herself from saying.

She felt another sting as she was slapped again. There was no doubt left in her mind, her father had gone _beyond_ insane.

"So what?" Nicole asked. "You're going to kill your own daughter?"

"Oh, no," Her father smirked. "There are _worse_ things that can be done to you."

Nicole's brain fuzzed out completely as she heard her clothing tear.

"_Tony!!_"

TBC!

**AN: Yeah, this story is taking a darker turn, a little sooner than I wanted it to, but all the same. I found the info on the Date Rape Drug actually in my Sociology book, and it helped this idea along. I'm just warning y'all, the next few chapters are probably going to be **_**pretty**_** dark, but they'll be good all the same!**


	7. Rage

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Tony's blood was pounding in his head. He was working like lightning on his computer to try and get a lock o the energy being put out by Nicole's Arc reactor. Thus far, he'd gotten nothing, and Nicole had disappeared hours before. His determination was forcing him to go on and on; he never admitted defeat.

'_Come on, Nicole! Where are you?'_

Tony sighed as he sat back in his computer chair. He drank a sip of his cooling coffee and growled in annoyance.

"Can I help you in any way, sir?" Jarvis inquired.

"Search for Nicole's reactor," Tony responded.

"Is she missing it?"

"No, but _she's_ missing," Tony said. "If we find her reactor, we find her."

Nicole's world was spinning. She couldn't open her eyes. No, scratch that, she _wouldn't _let herself open her eyes. She had been moved, she was aware of that as she felt the cold metal against her now bare back. That wasn't the only thing she was aware of at that moment though. Everything was distorted in her mind, but she _knew_ what had happened to her, she just didn't want to believe it. In a few hours, her whole life had changed. _Everything_ was different now. She'd never be able to look at Tony the same way again. She might not even be able to let him touch her.

She'd been raped. The drug, along with the alcohol was supposed to make it so she wouldn't be able to remember anything, but Nicole could hear her own body screaming to tell her what had happened. Her father had used one of his old workers to shatter Nicole's entire world. How the hell was this happening?

"Feigning sleep won't change reality."

Nicole's blue eyes slowly opened. There was a sheet covering her bare body. She tried in vain to move her arms, feeling leather restraints slide along her wrists.

"You got your revenge, Ben," Nicole snarled. "You had one of your workers rape me. Now let me go."

"So you can go running to Iron Man?" Her father's face appeared over her. "I don't think so."

'_Besides, if I let you go, how will I get to see your mind slowly unwind itself?'_

Nicole groaned inwardly. Her mind was unraveling, that much was certain. She didn't want her father to get that satisfaction no matter what, but it seemed she didn't have a choice.

"How are you feeling?"

Nicole's eyebrow arched, "What the fuck do you care?"

"I can give you something for pain."

"I don't want shit from you," Nicole snapped. "Just leave me alone."

Ben sighed, "Always so bitter…."

"If _I'm_ bitter, than what the hell are you?"

"You should have just stayed away from Stark like you were supposed to…."

"Go to hell," Nicole snarled.

"Oh, I'm already there," Ben smirked. "And so are you."

Nicole's anger was at a dangerous level. She could honestly say she'd never felt so angry before in her entire life. She just wanted to….

Her trail of thought was disrupted by a cracking sound. Her eyes looked up at the ceiling. Thus far, she'd been unable to actually tell where the hell her father was keeping her, but as she looked up at the ceiling, she saw it beginning to crack. Nicole squeezed her eyes shut as the ceiling came down entirely three seconds later. When she opened them, she thought for a second that her eyes had begun to bleed as all she saw was red. But then the red started to move, and there was gold as well…

"Iron Man," Nicole heard her father gasp.

Finally Nicole's distorted mind made sense of what she was seeing. She saw Iron Man moving towards her father, but for the first time in her life, she wasn't so sure she was _happy_ to see him.

"How did you find us?" Ben demanded.

"Funny thing about Arc reactors," Tony said conversationally. "They give off a _very_ traceable energy."

Tony charged up one of his repulsar rays as he advanced on Ben, "You've got three and a half seconds to—"

"Stop."

Tony _barely_ heard Nicole's whisper. He turned to face her, "Huh?"

Nicole shook her head, "You killing him like this is more than he deserves, Tony. _Don't_."

Tony didn't lower his repulsar ray as he walked towards Nicole. Nicole's eyes could barely stay open. Tony had to question whether she was even really in her right mind.

"I'm fine," Nicole whispered as Tony's visor went up. She'd heard the question pass through Tony's mind and frankly, she'd been slightly irritated by it. She was in pain and depressed as hell, but she could still think clearly for the most part.

"Let me get you out of here," Tony said quietly.

Nicole hesitated. She really _did_ trust Tony deep in her heart, but something about him was scaring her slightly at the moment. She tried to put it to the back of her mind as she felt the leather slide off of her wrists and ankles, but suddenly Tony was snarling.

"_What the fuck did he do to you?!_"

Nicole pulled the sheet close to her bare body, "Tony, _not_ now."

Tony whirled around to face Nicole's father, only to find none other but a Stark Industries rifle pointed at his face.

"Give me one reason to, Stark," Ben Lion said quietly. "I swear, I'd _love_ to be the one to send you to see those _parents_ of yours in hell."

Tony fired his repulsar ray and Ben dodged it by a hair. He'd struck a nerve of Tony's that no one ever _dared_ to think of striking.

"Stop."

Neither of them heard Nicole's voice as the sound of gunfire filled the room. The bullets ricocheted off of Tony's armor, naturally, and Tony fired back with a round of his own.

"_Stop_," Nicole's voice was getting stronger and deeper. Her anger was rising, something she'd been trying to control so desperately….

She snarled in pain as a bullet ricocheted off of Tony's armor and grazed her arm. Both Tony and Ben turned to see Nicole on her feet. But something wasn't right; Nicole's skin was glowing, as were her eyes. She held the sheet tightly around her as her eyes glowed blood red.

"Nicole…?" Tony said hesitantly.

"_You fucking bastard…._" Nicole's voice came in a deep hiss; She spoke to her father as her arm rose, taking him along with it.

'_What the hell?'_ Nicole heard Tony's shocked mind yelling.

"_Another quirk to being a ghost_," Nicole hissed. She threw her hand to the side, and her father flew with it, slamming into a wall. The wall cracked and became dented, but Nicole paid it no attention. Her rage was screaming in her ears as she slammed her father into the opposite wall and then into the wall directly in front of her. She didn't flinch as the wall collapsed on top of the man she loathed. In her heart, she knew what she had done to him, and at that moment, she really didn't give a shit. Until the realization actually kicked her in the stomach.

"_Oh, SHIT!_"

Tony's eyebrows rose as Nicole's glow began to disappear. Nicole fell to her knees, shaking. Her jaw dropped and her eyes were wider than Tony had ever seen them. Slowly, she turned to face him.

"Tony," Her voice was _barely_ audible. "I just _killed_ my father!"

TBC!

**AN: Hey guys! Happy weekend! So I saw The Dark Knight yesterday….AWESOME movie, but it still can't beat out Iron Man in my honest opinion ;) So, with this update, I'd like to forewarn all of you, the next chapter is probably going to be the darkest one of them all. But as Aaron Eckhart said in The Dark Knight, 'The night is darkest before dawn….' Love that quote….Till next time!**


	8. Darkness Begins

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Tony was _beyond_ furious. Three days had passed since he'd saved Nicole. In that time, Nicole had been in the hospital, and she'd almost been sent to a mental institution. In the end, her own stubbornness got her discharged from the hospital. But that was not what was making Tony so mad. Nicole had shut herself down completely. She'd barely spoken while in the hospital, she'd denied the drugs the doctors had been insisting to give her for the pain, and worst of all, she wouldn't let _any_ males, including himself or doctors, touch her.

He was going to _kill_ Nick Fury. Up until the time when Nicole had actually done something with it, she'd been _entirely_ unaware that she still had the telekinetic abilities that she'd had when she'd been a spirit. Thinking back on the entire situation worried Tony. Who wouldn't be worried by something as weird as Nicole's skin glowing and her eyes burning red as she tossed her father around like a rag doll? If Tony didn't get answers from Fury soon, all hell was going to break loose

_Nicole felt the rush of adrenaline pulsing through her body. She'd never felt so powerful before in her entire life. She was going to make the motherfucking bastard pay for every little shit he'd ever done to her._

'_Please….' The pleading voice had no effect on Nicole's rage; the bastard should have thought about that before he fucked up her life. Nicole released a wave of energy that hit the man full force and sent everything crashing around him. Nicole did nothing but laugh as the screams died out. But then, she caught sight of herself in an almost transparent mirror. She screamed as she saw her normally calming blue eyes burning blood red, and her skin was glowing like gold._

Nicole screamed as she sat up. Her heart was pounding, her head was killing, and she was drenched in a cold sweat.

'_A dream_,_'_ Nicole thought as she tried to slow her breathing down. _'It was only that goddamn recurring dream.'_

She shook her head and got out of bed, shaking like a leaf. She walked into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror as she opened the medicine cabinet. Her eyes were bloodshot, but nonetheless blue, and her skin was paler than it had been in a long time, definitely not glowing….

"I'm a fucking murderer," Nicole mumbled as she searched the medicine cabinet. "How the hell do people murder five people and live with themselves? I killed _one_ person and I'm barely hanging on."

Nicole found what she'd been searching for; a small medicine bottle full of Vicadon. Nicole had gotten her wisdom teeth removed a few weeks before she'd ever gone to Pakistan, but hadn't ever taken the medicine the orthodontist had given her. She was suddenly glad that she never threw away any medicine.

"Take two every eight hours for pain as needed," Nicole read. "Well, bottoms up."

Nicole took the medicine for two main reasons; One, she _really_ was in pain from the car crash, even if she wouldn't have admitted it while in the hospital; and two, she needed to rid herself of mental pain as well.

The time on the digital clock next to her bed read 4:35 PM as she crawled back into bed. She'd been in bed for days, not wanting to face the world. If she could _really_ rid herself of all the mental and physical pain she was in, she could go back to her normal life. But things weren't that simple. She'd been raped, and as much as she tried to force the thought from her mind, it seemed to have ingrained itself into her mind. Every time her cell phone rang and Tony's name flashed across the screen, the memory just seemed to hit her that much harder. She wouldn't talk to him, she wouldn't text message him, she just couldn't bring herself to do it.

"I need a change," Nicole mumbled. She got out of bed once more and began searching her house.

Three hours later, as the sun was finally starting to set, Tony pulled his R8 up Nicole's driveway. When he approached the door, Sophie's voice called out to him.

"You're not welcome here, Mr. Stark."

"Do I ever care if I'm _welcome_ _anywhere_?" Tony inquired of the AI. "Where's Nicole?"

"She's indisposed," Sophie responded. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, but I have orders to not let anyone in or out of this house other than Nicole herself."

"Like she's actually left this house since the second she got home from the hospital?" Tony said, his voice laced with sarcasm. "Sophie, just let me in, I don't have time for this, and I need to tell Nicole something important."

"One second," Sophie vanished for a second, and suddenly the doors swung open.

"Thanks, I think," Tony said.

"Don't say I didn't warn you about her, Mr. Stark," Sophie said. "You may not like what you see."

"I'll take my chances," Tony said as the door locked behind him. He began combing the house in a search for Nicole. Strangely, she wasn't anywhere _in_ the house. But what Tony found in one of the bathrooms worried him slightly. The sink was _full_ of some dark red residue. Tony prayed to God he was wrong with his assumptions on what it actually was.

Tony's heart jumped suddenly as he heard a round of gunshots go off.

"What the hell?" Tony asked to no one in particular as he followed the sound.

He found Nicole at last in the backyard. But at first, he wasn't even really sure it _was_ Nicole. Her back was to him, and that was what confused him most. Her hair was no longer brown, but a deep burgundy color, and it didn't fall down her back any longer, but reached just below her shoulders. Tony was only sure it was her due to the fact he could see her distinctive Japanese love symbol tattoo on her right shoulder.

Nicole had a BB gun in her hands and was shooting down targets around her backyard. Tony had to admit that he was impressed with her aim. His heart stopped for a split second when Nicole finally turned towards him. Her blue eyes looked pained and beyond bloodshot. The way she looked at him gave him the impression that she was trying to convince herself that he was just an illusion.

"What are you doing here?" She asked finally, her voice hollow.

"Watching your continuing meltdown, apparently," Tony said, taking the chance of walking closer to her. He relaxed slightly when she lowered the BB gun, "Your aim is amazing."

"Thanks," Nicole responded stiffly.

"You dyed your hair," Tony remarked.

Nicole nodded, "And?"

"It looks nice."

Nicole shrugged. It was then that Tony realized that something was more off than it should be with her.

"How are you doing?"

"How does it look like I'm doing?" Nicole's voice hollowed even more if that was possible as she indicated all the targets around her.

"Did you take medication?" Tony asked at last.

Nicole yawned and nodded.

"Vicadon?"

"How'd you know?" Nicole inquired.

"I know the effects of it," Tony responded. "Where the hell did you get Vicadon from?"

"Other than the fact that I _run_ a pharmaceuticals company," Nicole started, rolling her eyes. "I had it from when I had to get my wisdoms removed."

"Are you in pain?"

"Not anymore," Nicole's response was laced with sarcasm as she smirked. Tony's eyebrows arched as Nicole walked over to a small round table and dropped the BB gun on it.

Nicole pulled out a box of Marlboro cigarettes from the pocket of her sweatpants and took ignited one cigarette.

"Since when do you smoke?"

"Since when do you care?"

Nicole was getting difficult to deal with, and Tony was getting pissed off. He wasn't mad at her, because this _hadn't_ started with her, but the aftereffects of the entire situation with her father was leading her on a path of self-destruction.

"I tried to talk to Nick Fury today," Tony tried again for a civilized conversation.

"Oh?" Nicole said as she exhaled a puff of smoke.

"He's out of town for the next week."

"Joyful," Nicole rolled her eyes. "So he's off screwing around while I've become a fucking murderer because he can't be straight with me. _Just great_."

"You're not a murderer, Nicole," Tony said.

"Tell that to my father," Nicole snapped. "Oh, wait, you can't because I fucking killed him in cold blood!"

"If you were _really_ a murderer, I wouldn't have been able to keep you out of jail," Tony said. "_Everything_ points to what you did being out of self-defense."

"_Self-defense?_" Nicole's voice finally rose a few octaves. "Self defense would have been me kicking his ass karate-style. Tony, you have _no_ fucking idea what the hell I felt when I was killing him!"

"Tell me, then," Tony crossed his arms as Nicole stamped out the cigarette. He was hopeful that if Nicole finally spoke about what had happened, then she might feel a little better.

"Okay," Nicole snapped. "Try wrapping your mind around this: I _literally_ felt every single one of his heartbeats, and every one of his gasping breaths as I was tossing him around. It felt _so_ good that I couldn't even think about stopping myself. As the wall crumbled on him, I felt his last breath. It was like a drug to me, Tony. The feeling I got from it…."

She shook her head, "Something's wrong with me, Tony. It's not safe for you to be around me."

"Well," Tony said. "I'm sorry to tell you, but I'm not leaving you."

Nicole sighed, "Whatever. I don't have the will to argue with you right now."

Nicole walked right past him and into her house. Tony followed her at a distance, he decided then to spend some time in Nicole's house, just to keep an eye on her for a bit.

'_No harm in that, I guess,'_ Tony mused as he sat down on Nicole's couch and turned on CNN.

TBC!

**AN: Okay, this is part 1 of a 2 part chapter. Nicole's dark side is only starting to show here. Next chapter, what happens when the mental pain becomes too much for Nicole to bear? Till next time!**


	9. Self Destruction

AN: Okay, I'm warning all of y'all, this chapter has no sexual content in it or anything, but it has some major darkness in it

**AN: Okay, I'm warning all of y'all, this chapter has no sexual content in it or anything, but it has some major darkness in it. Don't read it if you don't like that kinda stuff.**

Chapter 9

The hours crept by. Tony saw Nicole only once more by the time midnight rolled around. She had come down around 10:30 and told him that he was welcome to do as he liked in her house and that Sophie had changed the sheets in one of the guestrooms if he wanted to sleep. When she'd come down the stairs, she was wearing a bathrobe, her newly dyed hair pulled back as if it had been annoying her. Her voice hadn't lost its hollowness. When she spoke, it actually appeared that every single word was hurting her.

In Nicole's reality, every word really _was_ hurting her. She sat in her darkened room, a glass of vodka in her hands. Tears were trailing down her face and she wasn't even bothering to try and stop them. She was repulsed by herself.

'_I don't deserve to be breathing right now,' Nicole said to herself. _

_She slid off her bed and slinked into the bathroom. As she looked at herself in the mirror, her mind flashed back to where her father had been holding her. Nicole's own screams echoed in her ears. The glass of vodka slipped out of her fingers and shattered at her feet, but Nicole barely heard it over the noise in her head._

'_You're worthless….'_

_Her father's harsh words tore at her._

"I can't do this," Nicole said finally. "I can't…."

_Her eyes found a shard of the broken vodka glass. She picked it up in one of her shaking hands and slashed the skin of her wrist with it. She did it once, twice, three times, and blood began to pour out of the cut. It stung for a second as Nicole's tears fell directly on it, but then, it was almost like she hadn't even done it. She didn't feel it, what she felt was a small release._

"Fuck it," Nicole snarled. She left the bathroom and went out onto the balcony, grabbing the pack of cigarettes as she went. She didn't give a second thought to her wrist as she sat out on the dark balcony. She felt it bleeding, but that was all she felt about it. _Who gives a damn? Maybe we'll all be lucky and I won't wake up in the morning…._

Her mind wandered to Tony for a split second. He was still somewhere in her house. She knew she couldn't tell him what she'd done. That was going to have to remain her little secret. But it wouldn't be much of a secret if she actually _did_ wind up dying….

Tony yawned and stretched as he got out of bed. The clock by the bed in the guest room read 9:37 AM. For a few moments he had to remember exactly what had actually woken him up, but then he remembered the sound of glass breaking and hearing Nicole cursing.

'_That girl curses like a sailor when she gets mad,'_ Tony thought as he yawned again.

"Shut up, Tony!"

"Damn it," Tony grumbled as he heard Nicole walking nearby. Two seconds later, the door to the guest bedroom opened and Tony instinctively pulled the covers closer to him. His eyebrows knit slightly when he saw Nicole. She looked deathly pale. The purple circles under her eyes seemed to be the only color in her face and she coughed before talking.

"You should _really_ learn to control those thoughts of yours."

"Are you feeling okay?" Tony asked, ignoring Nicole's comment slightly.

"Do I _ever_ feel okay nowadays?" Nicole responded as she began to put her hair up again. "I didn't sleep well and I have a headache, but other than that—"

"What happened?"

Tony's eyes had found Nicole's wrist. It had been covered by her sleeve until she'd started to do her hair, but when she'd raised her hand up her sleeve had fallen back to reveal a bloody bandage.

"Whatever," Nicole shrugged. "It's not important."

Nicole turned and walked out of the bedroom, but Tony bound after her, finally blocking her pathway to the stairs. He saw something change slightly in her eyes, something like fear.

"Move," Nicole's voice was a mixture of emotions.

Tony shook his head, "What did you do to yourself?"

"Use your imagination," Nicole suggested.

"Why?" Tony demanded. "Why did you do it?"

"I shouldn't be alive."

Tony let out a noise between a snarl and a groan, "_Nicole!_ If you keep all this shit up, _you are going to die!_"

"Good," Nicole said. "Then I can burn in hell where I belong."

Tony put his hands on Nicole's shoulders and felt her flinch slightly. It was the first time he'd touched her since before the car accident. He half expected her to toss him away from her, but she didn't move, she looked directly into his eyes, her own full of tears.

"_Please_," Tony's voice was pleading. It was the first time she'd ever heard anything like it from Tony. It was then that she realized his eyes also had tears deep inside of them. "Nicole, please, stop all of this, before you do something that can't be undone."

Nicole looked away from Tony's eyes, "I _can't_. Tony, you don't understand…."

"What don't I understand?!" Tony's voice really freaked Nicole even more.

Finally Nicole pulled away from Tony's grip, "Tony, I think I may be pregnant."

TBC!

**AN: Yeah, well….This chapter speaks for itself I think. As always, if there's any questions or issues, leave me a comment and I'll get back to you on it.**


	10. Hope?

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

It was as if part of Nicole's depression had instantly raised itself off of her shoulders with her saying the thing she'd wanted to yell so desperately, but unfortunately for Tony, he was now _very_ confused.

"How do you know?" He asked finally, his own voice probably a little darker than it should have been.

"I've recognized the signs my body is showing me," Nicole said quietly. "I woke up this morning throwing up like crazy, _and_ my 'friend of the month' hasn't come."

Tony's eyebrows rose slightly at that extra information, "So you think you're pregnant and yet you're smoking, drinking, and trying to commit suicide?"

"I just realized everything when I woke up puking my guts out," Nicole said quietly.

"Nikki, please, let me get you some help."

Nicole shook her head, "If I let you check me back into the hospital, I _know_ that I'd _probably_ hang myself. I know what I need, and that's too get away from all of this."

"Where would you go?" Tony inquired.

"To a friend," Nicole said offhandedly. "I just need you to trust me."

"You know I do," Tony said. He sighed and looked directly into Nicole's eyes, "You're not sure who the father is, are you?"

"I _know_ it's one of two people," Nicole said sadly. "But which one _truly_ is the father, I don't know. Honestly, I'm praying to God that it's you, but there's a 50 percent chance I'm wrong as hell."

Tony looked away from Nicole, nodding slightly, "You know I'm here for you 24/7 if you ever need me."

Nicole covered the distance between them in two strides, "I know." She kissed Tony softly on the lips.

Two days later, Nicole pulled a rental Mustang convertible up to a distinctly familiar building. With a nod to the doorman, she went up through the floors in the elevator. Once the elevator stopped, Nicole looked directly at the door in front of her and sighed.

'_Here goes nothing_,_'_ She thought as she raised her fist and knocked three times on the door. She heard footsteps on the other side, and two seconds later, a familiar face appeared. At first the man looked shocked, but then a smirk appeared on his face.

"Well," Said Bruce Wayne, "What do we have here?"

Back out in Malibu, Tony Stark was worried. He knew in his heart that what Nicole was doing in the end could be beneficial for herself, but he wanted so desperately to be the one to help her get through everything. Tony was going over some information that Pepper had given him while he had been at Lion Labs just to keep himself busy. He was seated in the gloomy atmosphere of his lab, but his mind was a million miles away.

"Sir," Jarvis's voice called out of the gloom. "You _might_ want to step outside for a second."

"Why?" Tony inquired.

"I believe you'll see something of particular interest."

Tony hated it when Jarvis was so vague. Reluctantly, he left his spot and walked up the stairs two at a time. He looked out a window and instantly did a double take. Soft white snow was falling down outside the window.

"What the hell?" Tony mumbled, walking at last to a balcony that overlooked the ocean. The sky was a dark grey like Tony had never seen before. The snow was falling at a rapid pace, and even more than that, it was actually _sticking_ to the ground.

"Jarvis," Tony said, his voice stronger. "What month are we in?"

"We're ending June," Jarvis responded. "I believe the high yesterday was 102 in the shade, sir."

"How the hell is it _snowing_, Jarvis?"

"I'm _not_ programmed to tell you how the impossible is happening, Mr. Stark," Jarvis reminded him. "I'm merely here to assist."

"This is _insane,_" Tony whispered as a cold breeze blew over him and he actually _shivered_. "Something's wrong here."

Nicole stood out on the balcony of Bruce Wayne's penthouse; Gotham City was actually a calming sight to her. She inhaled deeply as Bruce himself walked out onto the balcony, two cups of coffee in his hands. He motioned for her to sit at the small table nearby. Nicole inclined her head as he handed her one of the cups of coffee and drank deeply.

"So," Bruce Wayne said. "Not that I mind, but are you finally going to tell me what you're doing here?"

Nicole sighed again, giving Bruce the once over. He had various bruises and scars over his well-toned body. He was still in his pajama pants and shirtless, but it didn't matter to Nicole.

"What?" Nicole asked finally. "A girl can't come visit one of her oldest friends?"

"A _normal_ girl can," Bruce said, drinking from his own cup of coffee. "But you're _anything_ but normal." Bruce looked like he was debating asking her something, and finally Nicole tuned into her mind link which she'd been trying to ignore.

"_Yes_," She said finally. "The rumors of me killing my father are true."

"How did you know what I was thinking?" Bruce inquired.

"I have a _lot_ to catch you up on," Nicole said. "But I need a favor from you."

"What?" Bruce asked.

"Can I stay with you for a bit? I can't go back to Malibu for a while. You'll understand why after I tell you my story."

Bruce thought for a moment before nodding, "I have plenty of room for you here."

"Thanks," Nicole said. "Batman."

TBC!

**AN: Yeah, two updates in one day, what can I say? Okay, I HOPE y'all don't hate me for bringing Bruce Wayne into this. It's NOT going to be an entire cross-over, let me just set that straight. He's merely here to help Nicole out. I'll go more into their history in the next chapter. Till then, Ta-ta!**


	11. Memories

Chapter 11

**AN: Warning, some loving ahead!**

Chapter 11

Nicole smirked slightly as she saw a muscle in Bruce's jaw tighten, "How did you know about that?" He asked.

Nicole shrugged, "I know _you_ Bruce. But you tell me your secrets and I'll tell you mine."

"What secrets could you possibly have that would interest me?" Bruce's eyebrows rose slightly.

Nicole pulled down the collar of her shirt, revealing her reactor, "Any more idiotic questions?" She inquired.

"Since when?" Bruce asked, his eyes slightly more curious than before.

"A few months," Nicole responded. "Bruce, in a few short months' time, I've been turned into a hero, killed, revived, and raped, do I _really_ need to go into any _more_ explanations?"

"_What_ was that last one?"

Nicole sighed remembering how big-brotherly like Bruce had always been to her. Hell, she could hardly forget the first time she'd met him. It hadn't been all that long ago. She had been 13, while he was a good two years older than her. She'd met him while ditching a benefit her father had forced her to go to. Out on the streets of Los Angeles, Nicole had been trying desperately to find any excuse to leave, when Bruce had caught her eye. He'd been walking down the road, and Nicole had been strangely drawn to him. Their friendship had developed from there.

She had kept it to herself for many years, while keeping in consistent contact with the mysterious Bruce Wayne. He wasn't that different from herself in all honesty; she lived to make trouble, so did he. He was happier anywhere but work, so was she. He loved to party, hell, was that even a question with her? He had always there to bail her out of a tough situation, while she tried to do the same for him up until the time he vanished from the earth only to come back out on top of Wayne Enterprises and their friendship picked up again.

Yes, they had spent some time dating, but they'd both decided that they were better off as friends than fuck buddies, besides the fact that they both _hated_ the long-distance factor of their relationship. But that didn't mean they didn't still have an attraction to each other.

Nicole finally launched into an entire explanation of her situation. She could almost feel the pressure rising off of her shoulders as she spoke. She didn't feel like she was talking to someone who was just a friend, she felt like she was talking to a brother. It was actually very therapeutic for her. When she finished her story, Bruce was silent, but his eyes were calming and kind.

"You've been through a lot in a very short amount of time," Bruce said at last. "It just proves how strong you really are. Many people going through what you've been through would have fallen apart long before now."

"But I _did_ fall apart," Nicole said. "Bruce, I _killed_ my father—"

"Who's to say that he wasn't going to kill you?" Bruce inquired.

"Who's to say he was?" Nicole retorted. "I let my anger control me and look what happened."

"I wouldn't let it take control of your life though," Bruce said. "Well, like I said, you're welcome to stay as long as you like, but don't freak if I disappear late at night and come back with marks all over me.

"Like I'm not used to it from Tony?" Nicole mumbled under her breath as her blackberry chimed. She groaned as she looked at the screen.

"Who is it?"

"Who else but the devil himself?" Nicole asked as she debated picking up Tony's call. Before she could make a final choice, it was made for her. Bruce snatched the blackberry out of her hand and shut it down.

"Hey!" Nicole half-laughed, half-snarled. "What the fuck!"

"You need a break from the rest of your life," Bruce said. "And that _includes_ Tony Stark."

Nicole arched her eyebrows, a smirk on her face, "_Jealous, Mr. Wayne?_"

"Hardly," Bruce rolled his eyes. "But I made a promise to you _years_ ago to always watch your back for you. I'm just living up to my word."

"What a _gentleman_," Nicole rolled her own eyes. "But I _really_ do need my blackberry."

"I'll give it back," Bruce smirked. He turned it back on and tapped a few keys. The blackberry beeped and he tossed it back to Nicole.

"What the hell?" Nicole's jaw dropped. "You locked it! How the fuck did you override my password?"

"I run Wayne Enterprises for a reason, Nicole," Bruce said. "I know how to do things. I once turned every cell phone in Gotham City into a sonar device. From that I learned that _every_ cell phone has a back door. _Including_ blackberries."

"So much for privacy," Nicole shook her head. "My blackberry's useless if it's locked! What's the point in giving it back to me?"

"Your phonebook is unlocked," Bruce said as he stood up. "That's all you really need."

"You're treating me like a goddamn three year old," Nicole snarled as she too stood up. "Why?"

Bruce's eyebrows rose as he walked over to Nicole. He put his hands on her shoulders and felt her flinch, "You ask me why? That flinch is why. You came here to rest and hopefully get a little better. If I would've known that you were coming, I would've taken some time off. I've got to go in to work for a meeting today, but I can take the rest of the week off. And Alfred should be back soon, so he'll be around while I'm gone."

"Okay," Nicole responded quietly.

She followed Bruce back into the penthouse. Her mind was exhausted, her body was exhausted, everything inside of her just wanted to crash. It was then that she realized something. If she was right, she was about to get _very_ angry.

"Bruce," Nicole called after him as he headed for the bathroom.

"Hm?" Bruce turned to her, a slightly amused look on his face.

"What kind of coffee did you give me?" Nicole demanded.

"Decaf," Bruce responded, holding back a laugh.

"Son of a bitch!" Nicole gagged, realizing the blasphemy that had passed down her throat. Decaf coffee was one of the few things she ever refused to drink. How the hell had he slipped that past her?

"Nikki, you're even more tired than I thought you were if you're only realizing that now," Bruce said. "You need sleep, badly. I'll tell you, you'll probably be asleep ten seconds after your head hits the pillows of my amazingly comfortable bed.

"_Your_ bed?" Nicole bit her lower lip slightly.

"I won't touch you," Bruce held up his hands innocently. "I only have one bed while I'm living in this penthouse, and I'll be damned if you try to sleep on the couch."

"Fine," Nicole shook her head resignedly. There really was no point in trying to argue with him.

"Good," Bruce smiled. He clapped his hands twice and curtains descended on the windows sending the penthouse into near darkness. "Sleep well."

Bruce walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind him, but Nicole stood still until she heard the shower water running. She then changed into her pajamas and got into the _huge_ bed. Bruce had been right, she was asleep almost instantly. But her mind was doing anything but sleeping.

'_Hey, Bruce,' Nicole said as she walked into his study in Wayne Manor. She was in Gotham City for a few days visiting. Her long brown hair flowed after her as she bounded into the room, a smile on her face. 'I've got something I want to show you.'_

'_What's up?' Bruce asked, looking up from the book he had been reading._

_Nicole pulled her long hair to one side and revealed the new Japanese love symbol tattoo that she'd just finished getting done on her back. It was intertwined with a deep purple rose, and the entire design stood out against her pale white skin._

'_Wow,' Bruce said. 'I like it!'_

'_Thanks,' Nicole said. 'My father's going to freak though.'_

'_You turn eighteen in two months,' Bruce rolled his eyes. 'Who the hell cares?'_

'_True,' Nicole sighed. 'I wish I could stay in Gotham with you.'_

'_I wish you could too,' Bruce responded. 'But we both know you're starting your work at Lion Labs soon.'_

'_Don't remind me,' Nicole groaned. She walked away from Bruce and examined the new tattoo in a mirror. Bruce walked up behind her, a smile on his face._

'_You're so beautiful,' He whispered as he kissed the soft skin of her neck. 'I love you.'_

'_I love you too,' Nicole responded, leaning onto him slightly. She felt chills erupt over her body as Bruce continued to nip and kiss her collarbone. She sighed slightly as she felt one of his strong hands on her thigh. Her breath absolutely caught in her chest as she felt his fingers enter her._

'_Breathe,' Bruce reminded her as he slowly began to thrust his fingers in and out of her._

_Nicole had to remind herself what breathing was as she felt his thumb glide across her clit._

'_Bruce,' her voice pleaded. 'Please, I want you….'_

'_Soon,' Bruce assured her. He had one arm around her stomach, holding her still while his other continued to tease at her. Her whole body began to tremble and she became limp as her orgasm hit her moments later._

_Bruce smirked, 'That's one.'_

_Nicole felt him lift her up. She was still up in heaven, but her body was basically clay in his hands. He kissed her passionately as he carried her up the stairs to his vast bedroom. She was only too happy to return the kiss as she heard Bruce lower the zipper of her strapless dress. Her nails found the buttons of his shirt and undid them just as rapidly. Once they were skin to skin, the heat began to build. With each kiss each touch, Nicole's mind became hazier and hazier. _

_She and Bruce had been doing the long distance relationship for a few weeks, but nothing compared to the time when they were together._

'_Bruce,' Nicole gasped, her nails trailing up and down his back. 'Please.'_

_Bruce nodded against her shoulder and slowly slid into her. Nicole gasped as her back arched against Bruce's body. With each thrust, a new sensation hit her, before she knew it, both Bruce and she were experiencing their own mind-blowing orgasms._

'_I love you, Nicole,' She remembered hearing as Bruce kissed her stomach._

'_I love you too,' Had been the words that escaped her lips as she felt sleep overtaking her. The only thing that had mattered to her was having Bruce's arms around her…._

Nicole gasped as she sat up. The dream….It hadn't been a dream at all, but a memory. The memory of the first time she had sex with Bruce years earlier. She instantly felt sick. She leaned over the edge of the bed and grabbed a wastebasket just as she began throwing up.

TBC!

**AN: A little insight to Bruce and Nicole's history together right there….I was reading on Yahoo like an hour ago that Christian Bale (Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, as well as in my story) had been arrested on an allegation that he had sexually assaulted his mother and sister. Honestly, to me, it's all bullshit. It's too big of a coincidence that it would be coming up now lol…. ANYWAYS, I hope y'all liked the chapter, leave me some comments if you feel like it!**


	12. Author's Note, Not a Real Chapter, Sorry

Hey all, I know, sorry, don't kill me, but I decided to write y'all a little letter. Before y'all start worrying, NO, I'm not discontinuing this story OR my Batman story, I just need a few more days. I've been crazy with school and life in general (I wont bore y'all with the details, don't worry). Anyways, so yeah, by next week BOTH stories WILL be updated (I'm not doing Batman until Iron Man finally has a new chapter, so that will make me want to do it more). And yeah, I know I keep saying next week, next week, next week, but I'm in New York right now staying with my mom, and this is USUALLY where I get most of my writing done. I want to thank all those who have been reviewing, and who have been so patient with me, I Love y'all and your comments mean a lot to me!!

Love,  
Ilana, AKA IronHeartWriter 


	13. The Visit

**AN: HERE IT IS AT LAST!!**

Chapter 12

Nicole could almost swear she felt her skin turning green. She was sick with herself. She loved Tony deeply, despite the fact that before she left she wouldn't let him touch her, and yet, here she was in Gotham City, dreaming about sleeping with another man.

'What the hell kind of girlfriend am I?' Nicole wondered silently. 'Goddamn my father and this fucking situation he got me into. Well, look where that got him...'

Nicole looked up and saw her reflection in a mirror opposite the bed. She could barely recognize herself. Her red hair, the dark purple circles under her bloodshot eyes... Her face looked thinner and her eyes didn't even glimmer.

"Who am I?" Nicole asked out loud.

"I'd say that you're Nicole Lion," Answered a voice from the doorway. "But all three of us are having a hard time seeing her."

Nicole looked at the door and saw Bruce walk in with his ever-faithful butler, Alfred Pennyworth, who was holding a tray of juice and toast in his hands.

'She's going to be pissed at me in a second...' Nicole distinctly heard Bruce think as he walked closer to her.

"What did you do?" Nicole demanded.

Bruce gulped slightly, 'I forgot she can read minds...' "I made you a doctor appointment."

"Keep dreaming," Nicole snarled. "The last thing I want to see or deal with right now is ANOTHER doctor."

"Another?" Bruce inquired.

"Tony forced me to go to the hospital after he rescued me," Nicole said.

"My competitor is smarter than I give him credit for," Bruce said offhandedly. Nicole rolled her eyes as she sighed.

"I'm NOT going to a doctor."

"I know," Bruce said casually. "The doctor is coming to you."

'Three weeks, it's been fucking three weeks...' Tony's mind was growling as he flew through Los Angeles via Sunset Boulevard. Tony was NOT in a good mood at all. Apart from Nicole vanishing for more than three weeks, it was still snowing in Los Angeles County, and it wasn't getting any better. "Jarvis, any luck reaching Nicole?"

"None, sir," Jarvis responded in his calm British tone. "Her phone is still disabled. All I have for you is the location of her Arc Reactor."

Tony growled, using Nicole's Arc Reactor to go find her sounded majorly stalker-ish in his ears, but he needed her; maybe she could have some insight as to why it was still snowy in LA. But more importantly than that, he needed reassurance that she hadn't killed herself.

"Set course," Tony said stiffly. "It's time we found her."

Nicole was in a bitchy mood. She sat out on the balcony of Bruce Wayne's penthouse, trying to clear her mind. The morning had been hell; she'd been poked and prodded by the Wayne Family's doctor for the second time, and that did nothing to improve her mood. As Alfred tidied up inside, she had decided to get some fresh air and some sun out on the balcony. As she had been laying out for the better part of an hour, her eyes closed, she'd heard everything going on around her: cars honking angrily at one another, sirens of the men and women of Gotham's finest going off to save the city, a jet roaring by, a jet roaring by again...?

"Huh?" Nicole's eyes popped open as the sound of the jet didnt fade away this time, but stayed close to her. She blinked twice, not believing her eyes, but the red and gold Iron Man descended in front of her. "Oh, my god..."

"BRUCE WAYNE?!" Tony inquired as he landed and pulled his helmet off. "Bruce Wayne is the idiot you ran to when you needed someone to comfort you?"

"Stop it," Nicole growled. "This has nothing to do with business, and you know it! Bruce is an old friend of mine, from BEFORE I started working for my father, before he even ran his family's company." She paused, a small pain shooting through her body. She inhaled sharply and her hand flew to her stomach. Tony looked at her, worry shooting through his eyes as he advanced on her.

"Are you okay?" Tony inquired, touching Nicole's shoulder. She halfheartedly pulled away from him, but then decided against him.

"I'm scared," Nicole said at last. "I'm scared, and I can't do this alone, Tony. You saw how it almost destroyed me that first week when I was alone in my house; Bruce has Alfred watching me when he's not home, but if he lefy me alone, I don't know what I might do to myself. This entire ordeal has turned me into someone even I can't recognize."

"I want you to come back with me," Tony said.

Nicole looked away from him and walked into Bruce's penthouse. Her anger, pain, and confusion were all reaching their boiling points. She needed to find clarity... She just needed her life to make sense... if even for a split second.

"Why did you come after me?" Nicole inquired suddenly as Tony hesitantly followed her.

Tony cocked his head as if he hadn't heard her corectly, "Because I love you, Nikki, and I was worried about you."

"Tony," Nicole said after inhaling slowly and deeply. "I hope you know that I still DO love you too. I love you so much that I can't even fully tell you how much I love you. I want to spend as much of the rest of my life with you as I can, whether or not the child growing inside of me is yours."

"I was hoping you still felt that way," Tony admitted gently as he extended his hand, covered in its gauntlet and cradled Nicole's cheek. "I understand if you need to stay here for a while longer, but just promise me that you'll actually call me once in a while."

"Tell that to Bruce Wayne," Nicole smirked. "He disabled my Blackberry."

"Sonofabitch," Tony smiled. Nicole punched him playfully, but his armor absorbed the hit, reminding him... "By the way, do you know any company that has had advances in snow technology?"

"Snow?" Nicole repeated in confusion. "No, but Hammer Industries, run by that sonofabitch, Justin Hammer, has been attempting to work with weather control... Why do you ask?"

"Because he's trying to freeze Los Angeles," Tony said. "Fucking God, I should have known... I got to get back there..."

Nicole nodded halfheartedly, she didn't want him to go...

Tony walked over to her and kissed her passionately, "I love you Nikki."

"I love you too," Nicole sighed as Tony's boots roared to life and he vanished in a streak of light.

Nicole sat back down on the chair she had occupied before, a tear streaming down her face.

"Y'know," Bruce's sarcastic voice came from inside. "That was so touching, I almost cried."

Nicole glared at him, tossed a pillow roughly at him, and sent the cup of coffee he had been holding tumbling out of his hands and onto his shirt.

"And that was so touching I forgot to laugh," Nicole retorted grudgingly, watching the trail of light and smoke left behind by Iron Man vanish slowly

TBC!


	14. Hidden Pain

AN: Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews! I'm so happy to finally be writing this story again. just so y'all know, While I'm in NY, I do not have MS word, so if there are grammar or spelling mistakes, I'm sorry...

Chapter 13

Tony launched an attack on Hammer Industries, almost literally. Once he had a hint of what was going on, it didn't take long for the Mighty Invincible Iron Man to locate what was making it snow and destroy it, much to the fury of it's creator. But Tony was Tony Stark for God's sake, like he gave a damn what that asshole Justin Hammer thought of him!

What did take a long while was the return of Nicole to Los Angeles. The months slowly rolled by, and during those months, Justin Hammer had decided to fight on another plane entirely, the corporate plane. He was attempting to undercut Tony's deals with the U.S. Army, as much as possible, but as long as Tony had Rhodey, he saw the futile attempts as nothing more than a pain in the neck.

Tony was a mathmetician with a brain that seemed akin to the latest computer system, it didnt take him more than a few seconds to think of how long Nicole had actually been gone, nor did it take him that long to calculate around when she was due.

'Less than two months,' Tony's mind told him as he leaned back in his chair behind his desk in his office and propped his feet up. 'Damn, she's really been gone for over seven months?'

"Actually it's been seven months, two weeks, three days, five hours, thirty two minutes, and... eleven seconds" A small voice from the doorway said. Tony's eyes rose and he nearly fell backwards. Nicole was standing in the doorway, looking very much pregnant, and smiling somewhat bashfully. "Not to be technical or anything," She added as Tony got to his feet.

"Oh, no," Tony's voice dripped with sarcasm as he walked to her. "Not to be technical at all! Are you really here?"

Nicole smiled as she looked up into his eyes, "Would you believe me if I said no?"

"Not in a million years," Tony responded. He leaned down and met Nicole's lips with his. The kiss was hesitant at first, but it deepened, their tongues reaquainting themselves. Tony's hands found Nicole's soft fire engine red hair and got lost in the dark red curtain immediately. Everything about her was familiar, and yet...

"Ahem!"

Tony looked over Nicole's shoulder, and to his surprise, saw Bruce Wayne standing alongside Pepper.

"To what do I owe this bittersweet surprise?" Tony inquired.

"You didn't think I'd let an eight month pregnant woman travel on her own, did you?" Bruce inquired. "Especially when she's one of my best friends..."

"Tony, play nice," Nicole warned.

Tony backed up, his hands raised in mock surrender, "Relax, Nikki. I won't do anything to upset you, I promise."

"Thank you," Nicole said and kissed his cheek. She exhaled and Tony could tell she was relieve that he wasn't about to start up with Bruce. She sat down on the couch and Tony couldn't help grinning.

'She's fucking beautiful,' Tony thought.

"Thanks," Nicole said outloud.

"She always does that to you too, huh?" Bruce inquired as he took a seat next to Nicole.

"That mind reading thing?" Tony inquired. "Yeah, she does it to me a lot actually."

"If EITHER of you would actually listen to me, you would both know that I can't exactly control it," Nicole said. Her eyes narrowed on Tony, and he knew she was about to be pissed at him. Damn, he knew her almost too well... "Speaking of being able to control this curse, Tony, have you spoken to Nick Fury yet?"

"I've been dealing with that asshole Justin Hammer," Tony said in his defense.

"For seven months, three weeks--?"

"Okay, okay, okay," Tony cut her off, heading off the steam that was about to pour out onto his office floor. "I forgot, I admit it. I'm sorry."

Nicole smirked and glanced sideways at Bruce, "All you had to do was admit it," She said reasonably.

"I meant what I thought, by the way," Tony said. "You look amazing."

"Thanks," Nicole responded, running a hand through her hair. It was then that Tony realized her hair was no longer fully red, but the roots were growing out brown once again. "Hormones can work wonders on a person's appearance."

She looked around the office. It was all very familiar to her, it should, considering that she had owned the entire building once upon a time.

"I haven't touched your office," Tony said as if he had read her mind.

Nicole forced a smile, "You're a mind reader now as well?"

Something in her voice sounded slightly bitter, both Tony and Bruce noticed it.

"I'm fine," She said shifting to look at Bruce. Bruce nodded, though it was obvious he didn't believe Nicole. Nicole smiled, shaking her head as she got to her feet. "I am exhausted, I don't know about you, Bruce, but not sleeping is finally starting to wear me down. But then again, you're probably used to not getting a lot of sleep."

Bruce smiled, "You want me to take you back to your house?"

"That'd be nice," Nicole mused.

"Hey, Bruce," Tony said offhandedly. "Can I have a quick word before you do?"

Nicole looked suspiciously from her past lover to her present one, a look of confusion and suspicion on her face, "Since you obviously want me out of here," She said to Tony as she turned to the door, "No problem."

Bruce gave Tony a suspicious look of his own once Nicole left them, "What are you playing at, Stark?"

"Nothing," Tony responded. "Honestly. I just wanted to ask you something since getting a straight answer out of Nicole is nearly impossible."

Bruce's eyes narrowed, "Mh-hm..."

"How has she been?" Tony inquired, surprising Bruce slightly.

"Not the same," Bruce said. "She's much different than she used to be. She's got none of her spark left."

"PTSD?" Tony inquired.

Bruce shrugged, "She still keeps all her pain inside, but she tries hard not to let it control her. Once in a while, on the occasion she did get some sleep, she would be up within two hours screaming for help."

"Shit," Tony sighed. "She needs help, and soon... She's going to self destruct..."

There was suddenly a shriek, followed by rapid knocking on Tony's office door and Pepper ran in, "You need to go, now!" Her voice was shriller than Tony had ever heard it. "Nicole's unconsious!"

TBC! 


	15. A Moment of Sadness, or Joy?

Chapter 14

Tony and Bruce followed Pepper, though after a few paces she paused. When Tony looked at her questioningly, she shook her head, "I can't look at it again..."

"It?" Tony inquired, walking past her to find Nicole on the floor. Chills rose over Tony's body rapidly; Nicole wasn't just unconsious, she was bleeding. Badly. From her wrists. Not two seconds later, Bruce voiced Tony's thoughts.

"Ho-ly Shit!" Bruce exclaimed. "Nikki!"

"Someone called 911," Pepper said.

"Cancel it," Tony said. "I can get her to the hospital a hell of a lot quicker in my Audi."

Pepper nodded and scurried off. Both men lifted up the unconsious Nicole and brought her down to Tony's Audi.

"I'll follow you down there," Bruce said as they set Nicole in Tony's gleaming Audi R8.

Tony nodded and sped off. A glance in his rearview mirror a few moments later showed him Bruce following him in his Lamborghini Mercielago.

'So, they didn't fly down here,' Tony thought. 'They drove!'

"Hang on, Nikki..."

Nicole was admitted immediately into UCLA Medical Center. There was nothing for Tony and Bruce to do but wait. Both of them were on edge however...

"She did it to herself," Tony voiced at last. Neither one wanted to admit it, but it was the terrible truth. About two hours had passed and no one had told them anything. The waiting room was buzzing, but his mind seemed immune to all of that.

"I can't believe I didn't see this coming," Bruce said quietly. "She's been living with me for seven months, and all that time..."

Tony shook his head, "You should know better than me even that Nicole is a secretive person; if she doesn't want you to know something, she'll make sure that you don't know it."

"Mr. Stark?"

A kind looking female doctor appeared and both Bruce and Tony got to their feet, but Tony stepped forward.

"Hi," The doctor held out her hand. "I'm Lizzie, better known around here as Dr. Klein. I've been heading the doctors who have been taking care of Nicole."

"Hi, call me Tony," Tony responded, shaking her hand. "How is she?"

"I have good news, great news, and not so good news," Lizzie said honestly. "The great news, is that you're a father, your daughter was delivered a few moments ago via C-Section. The good news is is that Nicole was stablized. And the not so good news is that Nicole has to be moved to a different ward."

Emotions hit Tony like a train, he was a father, Nicole was alright... but wait...

"What do you mean a different ward?"

"She needs to be watched carefully, Tony," Lizzie said carefully. "She is on temporary suicide watch."

"Meaning what?" Tony inquired.

"You can see her and everything else, but she cannot see her newborn until she is cleared as not being a danger to herself within the next 24 hours," Lizzie explained. "Tony, has she ever been like this before?"

"She honestly hasn't lived with me for seven months," Tony responded. "But you should know, we've been having suspicions of her having PTSD."

"Why?"

"She was raped about eight months ago," Tony explained, his throat tightening slightly. "She's not even sure if the child is mine."

"Ah," Lizzie said. "Well, you can both go see her now, though I'm not sure if she is awake..."

Lizzie gave them Nicole's room number and both men walked off.

"Congrats, Stark," Bruce said once they were walking along an empty hallway.

"Thanks," Tony smiled grimly. "If only this happened in a better situation..."

"It'll all be worth it once the baby and Nicole are out of here," Bruce assured him.

Tony exhaled deeply as they reached the door to the ward Lizzie had directed them to, "I think I'm going to go down to the nursery first. I need to think for a few minutes before I face Nicole."

Bruce nodded, "Go ahead, I'll keep Nikki occupied."

Bruce and Tony walked off in different directions. To Bruce's surprise, not only was Nicole up, she was sitting in front of a window, overlooking LA. Her arms were heavily bandaged and something in the way she was standing gave off the expression of pain.

"Hey, bonehead," Bruce smiled warmly.

"Oh, it's you," Nicole sighed, turning to him.

"Sorry to disappoint," Bruce's charm shone through his smile. "How are you feeling?"

Nicole shrugged, "What difference does it make?"

"It makes the difference of you being able to see your new daughter or not," Bruce said. He exhaled deeply as he sat on her bed, "You really scared us, Nikki."

"Sorry," Nicole said emotionlessly. She was looking out the window, but Bruce could tell her mind was not anywhere within Los Angeles, it was probably millions of miles away at that point.

"Nikki, what's going on in your head?" Bruce inquired.

"What difference does it make?"

Bruce blinked, "Is that your answer for everything now?"

Bruce was certain he saw the faintest hint of a smile flash rapidly across Nicole's mouth as she opened it to answer and then shut it tightly.

"Was that a smile I saw, Ms. Lion?" Bruce inquired, moving from the bed to stand behind her.

Nicole looked at Bruce long and hard and after inhaling deeply, she said only three words as her hands grasped his upper arm, "Please help me..."

Tony walked along another deserted hallway to the nursery. He halted and the kind nurse at the door smiled when she saw him.

"You're Tony Stark," She said matter-of-factly.

"I know I am," Tony nodded.

"Your daughter just came down here," The nurse informed her. "Tiny little thing, with no first or middle name; only a surname."

"Nicole called her a Stark?" Tony inquired.

The nurse nodded, "Would you like to see your new baby girl?"

"Please," Tony inclined his head slightly.

The nurse walked into the Nursery, and after debating for a second, beckoned for Tony to follow her. Tony did so asfter first washing his hands thouroughly at the nurse's request. The tiny baby girl laid quietly in a cradle in the corner. She was wide awake, but she made no sound; she looked around curiously.

"She's a sweetheart," The nurse smiled warmly.

As if the baby recognized Tony, she immediately began cooing when she laid eyes on him.

"Can I hold her?" Tony inquired.

"Go ahead," The nurse responded. "Just don't leave the nursery."

Tony nodded and took the warm baby in his strong arms. After a few moments of rocking her, the baby fell asleep in his arms.

"You're so sweet," Tony said quietly. "I don't give a damn if I'm your father or not; I'm going to take care of your mother, and I'm going to take care of you. 


	16. Looks of Love

**AN: Well, here's where our story ends... This probably could have been 2 chapters, but I decided to make it 1 big one. I'm debating on making this series into a trilogy, so leave me a comment on that, because believe me, it will make a difference... ;) For you're approval, the final chaper of Haunted!**

Chapter 15

Nicole sighed as she stood. Her head ached, her heart ached, she was just all around confused.

"Nikki," Bruce said at last. "You know I can only help you as much as you're willing to help yourself."

Nicole glared at him, "You think I want to be a psychotic suicidal maniac who can't even look at her newborn baby daughter?! Fuck it, Bruce, I want to help myself; I don't want to be locked up here forever! I want to be with my baby... Hell, I just want to be with Tony!" Her expression saddened as tears came to her eyes. "I'm not even 27 years old," She said quietly. "But already I've managed to screw myself over in so many ways it's not even funny." She smiled grimly, "What Tony ever saw in me... I'm not even sure of."

"Shut the hell up, Nicole."

Nicole's eyes flew up. Tony was standing, leaning against the doorpost. Nicole wondered how long he had been there, but it was obviously long enough for him to be feeling angry, or so Nicole thought. Tony walked closer to her, so that he was just a few feet from her.

"You know exactly what attracted me to you, Nicole," Tony snarled. His tone was harsh, but his eyes spoke a different story. "You and I never got along while we were growing up, despite how often we saw each other, and you know what we were both like at MIT."

"Horrible, jealous, SOB's," Nicole mumbled.

"For lack of better words," Tony agreed with a shrug. "But, all that put aside, after Rhodey came to me and asked me to put the reactor into you, I got to know you like I never had before, probably because I saw you at one of your weakest times."

He saw Nicole bite down and clamp her jaw. He knew Nicole would probably shoot herself rather than admit that he was right, but that was the least of his worries. He had to get Nicole out of that place; both the hospital and the place where she was trapped in her mind.

"Wayne," Tony said after a few moments of awkward silence. "Can you give us a few minutes?"

"Sure," Bruce rose to his feet. "But I'm warning you Stark, hurt her, and I will tear you apart, and if you don't think I can, Iron Man, just ask Nikki."

Bruce left and Tony shot Nicole a look, "He knows?!"

"Oh be quiet," Nicole groaned. "He's fucking Batman."

"Oh, really?" Tony hummed. "Didn't know that. No wonder he thinks he could tear me apart..."

"And he probably could," Nicole sighed as she laid down on the hospital bed. Different drugs given to her throughout the few hours she'd been in the hospital to relax her were finally starting to kick in. She hated feeling the damned drugs in her body...

"Nikki," Tony said at last. He sat next to her hesitantly. "She's beautiful."

"Is she?" Nicole inquired quietly after a few moments. "I haven't even seen her."

"She's gorgeous," Tony nodded. "But she's nameless..."

Nicole nodded, "I wanted to talk to you about that, actually."

"Talk away," Tony said. He wanted so badly to just reach out and hold Nicole, but a nag in the back of his head told him to let her come to him.

"This entire situation..." Nicole paused. "Well, it made me end up here, but it also made me think. I know you, Tony, and I know your mannerisms, not that your mannerisms are bad, but I know you don't like to be tied down to anything. I'm not going to force you to help me take care of the baby, especially not when we don't even know if it's yours. But, all that put aside, I still want you to have some say in naming her."

Tony looked at Nicole for a few long seconds, "Who says I don't want to help you, regardless if the baby is mine or not?"

Nicole shrugged, "I just don't want you to feel like you're obligated to, Tony."

"I kinda am, considering I love you, Nikki," Tony grinned.

Tony could swear he saw the hint of a smile flash across Nicole's face as she looked at him.

"I was thinking of naming her Natalie," She said at last.

"Natalie Stark," Tony hummed. "Wait a second, all things considered, why are you naming her 'Stark?'"

Nicole finally smiled, "Because I still love the one who may or may not be her father."

The weeks went by rather quickly after that point. Both Nicole and baby Natalie were released from the hospital, and Nicole finally went to get professional help. She saw a psychiatrist for a few weeks and made rapid progress. Tony couldn't be happier for her. While Nicole wasn't busy taking care of Natalie, she returned to work at what was now Lion-Stark Industries and Laboratories as Tony had made a deal with her about the vast company's ownership. Nicole had also unofficially moved into Tony's house as she spent so much time there with Natalie.

"Nikki!"

Nicole groaned as she opened her eyes a slit. The digital clock read 6:45. God, she'd only slept for 45 minutes. God HELP the person that had just woken her up. Baby Natalie was the cutest baby in the world, and normally she slept pretty well, but that night she'd been a little sick, and Nicole, like all new mothers, had been worried and didn't even think of sleeping until Tony had finally woken up a little over an hour before.

"Leave me alone," Nicole mumbled sleepily, pulling a pillow up over her head.

"Nicole!!"

Nicole growled as Tony appeared in the doorway, a grin on his face. The grin only seemed to irritate Nicole further. Oh, she was not a good person to be around when she was sleep deprived

"Should I kill you now, or later?" Nicole inquired angrily.

"Nicole, the e-mail came."

Nicole sat bolt upright, "What! When did it come?"

"Must've been last night," Tony responded. "It wasn't there when I left work..."

Nicole bolted past Tony and ran straight down the staircase. She ran down to his workshop, jumping the last few steps and finally landing on the cold concrete floor. Tony entered the workshop after her, just as she was settling in front of one of the computer screens.

"Come on!" Nicole urged him.

Chill, Nikki," Tony drawled.

"Oh, how can you be so relaxed?!" Nicole demanded. "This could change everything!"

"This will change nothing," Tony yawned. "I told you already, I don't even give a fuck if..."

The end of Tony's sentence never left him as Nicole kissed him. She'd stood up so quickly that he didn't even realize what was happening until a few seconds after she was already kissing him. It took him a few moments to react; Nicole had been getting better and better at being the woman she was before she was raped, but she hadn't really kissed him like that in months...

Tony's hand found the small of her back and he pulled her closer. When they broke apart, Nicole's hand was on his chest, right beside his reactor, she looked up at him, sighing slightly as she did.

"Let's get this overwith."

Tony nodded and sat down in front of the computer screen.

"Jarvis, e-mail," Tony said.

Tony's Stark Industries inbox popped up on the screen. Right there, at the top of the list, was the e-mail both Tony and Nicole had been waiting for. Nicole put her head on Tony's shoulder as he opened the message.

"Dear Ms. Lion and Mr. Stark," Tony began reading. For once, Nicole didn't mind, she was too damned tired... "We regret to inform you that due to recent backlogging of our system and a server crash, we have lost some of the data required to complete your paternity test..."

Tony's voice trailed off and Nicole's eyes blazed, "This is bullshit!"

She stood up and stormed off back up the stairs. She had reached the second floor by the time Tony reached her.

"A month!" Nicole snarled, whirling around to face him so suddenly that he nearly fell down the stairs. "A fucking month we've been waiting for this fucking test to come through! It's like the entire universe doesn't even want us to know the truth!"

Tony could see the distress already piling up behind Nicole's eyes. But before he could say anything, Natalie began crying.

"Figures," Nicole sighed as she stormed off to the nursery to comfort the crying baby. She entered the nursery and hoisted the two month old baby out of her crib, trying to sooth her. Something still felt off with the baby though, Nicole could sense it as she held her.

"Tony?" Nicole called, unsure whether Tony had gone back downstairs or not. Instantly sorry that she had snapped at him, she walked a few paces to the door, but Tony appeared before she could walk through it. He took one look at Nicole's pained expression and took Natalie from her.

"She's burning up," Tony said, holding the infant close to him.

"I know," Nicole said. She was so fucking tired that she was almost falling over herself to try and stay awake...

"Go to sleep," Tony said.

"And leave you alone with her?" Nicole inquired. "Tony, she's so cranky--"

"So are you since you haven't slept yet," Tony commented. "I'll be fine with her."

"You're the best," Nicole said, kissing Tony on the cheek. She returned to Tony's bedroom where she had been sleeping and fell asleep nearly the second she hit the mattress. She had no idea how long she slept for as the room around her was dark when she woke up. She really didn't know what had woken her up. She lifted her head to hear her neck crack pleasently and heard what had woken her up again. Humming. Someone was humming softly. She looked around to see Tony sitting in a corner of the room on a rocking chair. In his arms was Natalie. She was sleeping softly as well. Nicole propped her head up in her palm and watched for a few moments.

Tony looked around suddenly, as if the absence of Nicole's even breathing startled him. When he saw her awake, he smiled.

_So what if he is or isn't Natalie's father?_ Nicole wondered silently. _He loves her, I can tell from the look in his eyes. He's going to be her hero, I know that for sure. Hell, he's already mine._

**END!**


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